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RMD and Pro Pulse

11-20-2008, 05:18 PM

I am now playing around with the Optima pendant and my XMT 350 CC/CV and I am getting some fantastic welds in both appearance and when I cut coupons out of my welds and destroy them. I can really see how higher temperatures really do break down the properties of aluminum, steel, and stainless in much the same way as the sheet metal magicians like Ron Fournier and Kent White swear by gas welding instead of arc welding when it comes to planishing and shaping through areas that have been welded. I think I'm a pulse welding convert since I can really see the benefit of keeping temperatures down.

I consequently have been really intrigued by RMD and Pro-Pulse. My LWS said I can make an appointment with one of his welding shops to play with a Pipe Pro after hours but I figure... what's the point. It's like Christmas shopping in a high end store that you can't afford. My XMT is an inverter... and the Pipe Pro is an inverter. The Optima pendant contains a circuit board that controls the process... and the Pipe Pro contains a circuit board that controls the process; just as the XMT 350 MPa or 350P contain circuit boards that control the process.

Can you guys at Miller come up with a pendant that offers RMD and Pro-Pulse so the masses can acquire the ability more affordably?

I mean...Henry Ford's revolution came about by delivering to the masses. Today, what good is Tesla Motor's car at $80,000.00?

Miller's patented RMD and Pro Pulse look great... now get it into the hands of your market... all of your market. Develop it in China if you must but make it more broadly available. How hard can it be to package the controlling elements of RMD and Pro Pulse?

Thanks for a considerate reply if someone at Miller could address it.
Ronald Semrau

I say to heck with the China part... you can do that yourself
Miller is getting there it's just a slow process.
Pulse spray is a good thing but it is not something that is gonna save the world. if you do things that show it's benefits and need it then you can probably pay for it. I don't think "the masses" need pulse myself.

Comment

Perhaps I was a bit over enthusiastic with my initial experience pulse welding after welding traditionally for 14 years; but enthusiasm can go a long way if you let it. An old timer once told me, "To a man with a hammer... everything looks like a nail." I always saw no real need for Pulsed Mig as well, but I saw some Optima pendants were going for about 30% of list price on ebay and Pulsed Mig was the only setting I wasn't able to use on my XMT 350. As I said, this made me look into the videos on RMD and Pro Pulse when I saw no need for it before. Again, A little enthusiasm goes a long way.

At my old plant, tradesmen initially saw no need for plastic in a factory setting. As the price of Lexan started coming down and we started stocking more of it, the more we brought in the more we used. Pretty soon nobody wanted anything out of sheet metal anymore... it all had to be Lexan. And one guy got into solvent bonding and the neat stuff he made generated buzz throughout the plant. I guess maybe I should ask Miller to get into the heat gun / extruder business; and for an encore... how about concrete welding or asphalt welding instead of those infernal patches they throw on our roads. Now there is a business plan... come up with an amalgam like dentists use for white fillings only for concrete. Just pump a crack full of amalgam and shine a hairdryer ultraviolet light on it and your done with a bond stronger than the base concrete.

That same old timer, as soon as he saw something that he thought was priced too high would say "They have got a really high opinion of their product ... they must not want to sell too many of them."

Comment

Pulsing with the XMT 350 and the optima pendant is a good solution. The better solution for mig welding is the Invision 350 MPa where the programs are in the power source and the wire feeder is synchronized with the program. An optimized solution is the RMD program on either the Axcess which is a wire feed only machine or the Pipepro 450 RFC. Both have RMD, the pro 450 has propulse and the axcess has accupulse as well as accucurve for aluminum and stainless. Accuspeed for high travel speeds (70 ipm+) Regular pulse, spray transfer and short arc.

If you get the chance to run it, take the time. Even if it is just for the experience, you'll be amazed.

Comment

I had always considered the Axcess system to be one of automation, not of the manual operator. Your tip prompted me to read up on it and, although still pricey from Miller, the sytem is much more available (and affordable) on auction sites as the original business buyers of the system get put out of business by this coming depression. Now if I can just manage to keep MY job, I might consider buying and Axcess at auction and add it to my stable of equipment. The only thing is the Axcess is a one trick pony, no tig, no stick. The PipePro does have tig and stick but no AC tig. And the PipePro seems very difficult to find at auction and less available as a used machine too. I'd bet that Miller sold much more of the Axcess system to job shops and businesses than the PipePro to pipe shops.

When spending for the bigger dollar equipment - I've always wanted to kill many birds with one stone...I love my XMT 350 CC/CV.

If ony Miller can give the XMT AC capability with the Dynasty's features for aluminum, I'd trade up right away. Or they could take a Dynasty and make it multiprocess like the XMT, whichever works out better. Then just add a teach pendant plug so you can add RMD programs and Accucurve, Pro Pulse, give it SharpArc, etc...

Thanks again for the heads up on Axcess being not just for automation.

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I agree, when you need it nothing can touch AC TIG. There are alot of areas where Miller is trying very hard to address as much as they can in the equipment. But the cost of a machine that can do it all would be staggering, not to mention weighing a ton. Sure it's possible to put it all into one machine but none of us could afford it. So the welding equipment companies try to focus on a core set of needs and then incorporate as much as possible into the machine without pricing it out of reach.

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In a nutshell, can you sum up the difference between say an Axcess 450 and the "Auto" Axcess 450. I'm sure the "Auto" implies the robotic welding that I always associated with the Axcess system, so is it feasible to use an "Auto" Axcess for manual welding with an Axcess Feeder or would it call for a plain old "Axcess" (minus the "Auto") with no controls at the power source and everything at the feeder?

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You can do semi-automatic welding with the auto axcess. The difference is going to be the "smart gun". It allows you to change guns on the auto feeder and make adjustments from the front panel of the power source.

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It appears that the Pipe Pro 450 RFC and the Axcess 450 are built on the same chassis and likely share virtually all of their hardware.

Can anyone tell me the difference between Pro Pulse on the Pipe Pro and Accu-Pulse on the Axcess Systems?

Both seem to hinge on pulsing with a shorter arc than traditional high voltage spray transfer pulsing; but not so short as to get into short circuiting like RMD does. Since the architecture of the PipePro/ Axcess machines are so similar, could it be that Pro/Accu Pulse are basically the same thing? Could a welder tell the difference between "Pro" and "Accu" in a blind test?

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The PipePro 450 RFC and the Axcess are both built on the same "platform". They are both very sophisticated in their concept and design. The benefit is that the programs are very customizable(is that a word?). The difference in the machines are the markets they are built for. For manufacturing regular parts day in and day out where a wire feed process is used then I would go with the Axcess. The programs are built for speed, we are constantly working to drive the welding speed up, 60 and 70 inches per minute is a common request we get in the automatic welding arena. Most robotic applications are running in the 35 to 50 ipm window right now. I have been as high as 85 inches per minute with the right gas, wire, program combination. I don't think 100 ipm is going to be a ceiling for it. The Axcess works great in an environment where efficiency is being measured, production costs are known and the benefits of a highly controllable machine can be tracked.

If you are a pipe shop that is going to mig, TIG stick, gouge etc then I would used the PipePro. The two markets are quite different from what their needs are and the programs are built to meet the specifics of what they need. Speed is not the main request. Ease of use, reduction of processes, like getting away from a TIG root. Trigger select to change program without going back to the machine are the heavy hitters.

Would someone be able to tell the difference between the arcs if they were running them by hand? Probably not for the speeds they are running. Remember though that for pipe 99% of the weld is out of position and the programs have to be built that way. The RMD programs will feel like there is no difference.

Comment

That was a great background on the machines. I personally am a tinsmith in skilled trades for one of the big three (knock on wood) with a personal shop in a pole barn on my farm. I have many projects for myself and if the economy slows enough I might consider side work but I hate all the ramifications like needing liability insurance and having some idiot from the county wanting to tax as light commercial instead of agricultural. You can't put up a shingle, any kind of sign and you will get a visit within a month. If you pour concrete in an ag building without a permit - somehow they find out... I think all the ready mix suppliers are in cohoots with county officials to make sure that they don't get in trouble. You have to buy bags slowly and mix it up yourself and pour late at night. And wall off your shop from the rest of your shed to make sure other farmers don't see it and talk.

anyway. for a guy adding to his personal shop, it looks like the axcess has all the potential. While I generally shy away from bells and whistles... I am intrigued enough by Miller's innovations to want to play with the features and expand my horizons. It is the most readily available and lowest in price on the secondary market - thanks in no small part to the economy. Pipepro's are harder to come by second hand and the oil and refining market may still hold sway over these machines - though it looks like that may soon change. I have all the tig capability I need with my XMT 350 CC/CV for steel and stainless and Dynasty 200DX for lighter stuff and aluminum.

I'm a little bit concerned about Miller discontinuing the PipePro in it's past form in favor of the PipeWorx system that is relegated to 3-Phase without AutoLine. Not every light industrial complex offers 3 phase. Seems like a step backwards to me even if the machine is supposed to be more user friendly. Plus it looks heavier and more bulky/awkward and restricted to a shop environment. Probably Pipe Shops can't sell customers on changing their code to allow RMD roots in the field. That and you probably have to carry and put up a tent on every field job which will cut into welder's bottom lines - wire feed will always be hard outdoors unless it is the most beautiful of days (days you would rather not be working) Also, pipe is one industry that really resists anything new.

Thanks again. I would never have even considered the Axcess for manual use without this dialogue. My only complaint is that the feeders work off of 40V instead of the the customary 24V. I have a 75-DXA that I absolutely love. It works great with my XMT 350 CC/CV.

Why on earth would they have the two 40V/24V feeder voltage architectures...just to be different and make people churn their equipment line??? If the machines' engineering work out better with a 40V circuit, fine; but then why not offer a step-down control unit like the WC-24 Weld Control (Stock #137549)???

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The Pipeworx was designed for a specific market and if it fits into other areas then it is worth making it available. It was designed specifically for the pipe shops.

For a 40 volt motor on the Axcess family, think torque and robustness of design. The Axcess feeder also is a synchronized feeder with the power source where they communicate to offer an optimized solution during the welding process. The machine is sampling the data feedback and making appropriate power changes to supply the arc that was asked for. To do all of that a 24 volt system didn't offer enough power.